Spells that are cast on a sleeping victim

[Douglas Muir 406]

If I understand correctly, from the POV of most spells a sleeping target is just prone and flatfooted. You don't take a penalty on a Will save, for instance, for being asleep.

Question: does anyone have a list of spells that are more effective if cast on a target who is asleep? I know of Dream, Dream Dalliance (that one is interesting), Dream Scan, Dream Travel, Dream Feast, Dream Voyage, Sleepwalking Suggestion, and Nightmare. Are there others?

Doug M.

[Dasrak]

Many spells (particularly illusion school) require the subject to be able to perceive them to be effective, and thus have no effect on sleeping foes. This can actually work in the favor of the caster, for instance a Hypnotic Pattern spell wouldn't waste its effect on creatures that are already incapacitated.

[blahpers]

Only thing I can add to the above: A sleeping target is prone (usually) and helpless, not just flat-footed. Their Dexterity is treated as if it were 0, which will do a nice job on the Reflex saving throw. Will and Fortitude saves, however, are unaffected.

[SlimGauge]

I'm not sure they're helpless, but they are unconscious (and thus considered "willing" for a number of spells).

[Fuzzy-Wuzzy]

SlimGauge wrote:

I'm not sure they're helpless, but they are unconscious (and thus considered "willing" for a number of spells).

Glossary wrote:

Helpless: A helpless character is paralyzed, held, bound, sleeping, unconscious, or otherwise completely at an opponent's mercy. A helpless target is treated as having a Dexterity of 0 (–5 modifier). Melee attacks against a helpless target get a +4 bonus (equivalent to attacking a prone target). Ranged attacks get no special bonus against helpless targets. Rogues can sneak attack helpless targets.

[avr]

Vision of Lamashtu is Nightmare+.

If there are only sleeping people around (rather than a melee with one sleeping target) you might get more use out of spells which take a minute or ten to cast.

[Avoron]

SlimGauge wrote:

I'm not sure they're helpless, but they are unconscious (and thus considered "willing" for a number of spells).

This.

Aiming a Spell wrote:

Some spells restrict you to willing targets only. Declaring yourself as a willing target is something that can be done at any time (even if you're flat-footed or it isn't your turn). Unconscious creatures are automatically considered willing, but a character who is conscious but immobile or helpless (such as one who is bound, cowering, grappling, paralyzed, pinned, or stunned) is not automatically willing.

There are all sorts of lovely ways to abuse this. Among the more obvious uses is teleportation - dimension door, teleport, word of recall, and even astral projection all work just fine for transporting unconscious creatures without a save, as do countless other similar spells.

Then look at some of the willing-only memory-affecting spells out there. You could mess with an unconscious enemy endlessly with spells like false belief, mindlocked messenger, and sequester thoughts.

For that matter, look at all the willing-only spells that cause some form of suspended animation. Hibernate, catatonia, metabolic molting, sequester... all of these can render an unconscious enemy paralyzed or comatose for minutes, hours, or days - and most without a save.

Really, the possibilities are endless. Life pact with a bag of unconscious toads. Champion's bout on a downed enemy to finish them off while safe from retaliation. Psychic surgery on a dominated ally. Half-blood extraction on a captured half-orc to turn them instantaneously and irreversibly into an actual orc.

But the single best use of this little exploit comes with the spell marionette possession, which allows for magic-jar-like possession of an unconscious enemy for 10 minutes/level as early as level five.